There are few businesses today that do not rely upon platen-based image acquisition apparatuses, such as photocopy machines, scanners, and facsimile machines. These devices may now even be frequently found in the home. A difficulty encountered in using these devices, however, is that the output does not always conform to the user's expectations with regard to orientation, dimensions, brightness, tone, magnification, or the like. Consequently, a user may have to activate the apparatus many times before the desired output is obtained, wasting time and resources.
As an illustration, a photocopy machine typically has at least two orientations (horizontal or vertical), for placing a workpiece upon a transparent platen, with the proper placement depending on which paper tray is selected. It is not uncommon for a user to place a workpiece upon the platen in the wrong position relative to the paper tray selected so the output is fragmented and misaligned; for example, a workpiece may be positioned vertically with the paper tray selected for a horizontally-positioned workpiece. Another commonly encountered frustration involves the user placing the workpiece on the platen in a crooked position so the copied image is tilted and edges of the workpiece get cut-off. These misalignment problems, or similar problems relating to selecting control features (e.g., magnification, brightness, etc.), are often encountered when the user wishes to create a copy having a graphic image different from that on the original workpiece (e.g., the copy is reduced in size or magnified or its orientation changed). In any case, these problems persist because with present-day copying machines, one cannot accurately anticipate the output such that numerous copies may have to be made before the right selection of controls is obtained.
Similar time-consuming frustrations are encountered with use of scanning devices. Due to slow scan acquisition times in current scanners, at the quickest rates available under today's standards a low resolution scan may consume from one to two minutes. A low resolution scan may be taken and shown on a computer screen with scanner-controlling software. In this way, a user may determine whether a workpiece is appropriately positioned on the platen of the scanner, and if necessary, reposition and reorient the workpiece. However, several low-resolution scans (each taking from one to two minutes), may be needed to position one workpiece, since the scanned image can be sensitive to slight misalignment of the workpiece relative to a Cartesian coordinate image-input system. Also, the scan does not produce a high resolution image showing the fiduicials of the scanner platen.
The instant invention addresses these drawbacks. The invention provides an improved image-acquisition apparatus having a preview feature that may employ real-time imaging characteristics, and it enables the user to view anticipated output, e.g., sizing and positional attributes of the acquired image, so adjustments may be made before the apparatus is activated. The pre-view feature provides an environmental benefit in reducing waste of paper, toner, and other resources, and it saves time and increases efficiency, not only during the image-aquisition process but also during maintenance. Further advantages may appear more fully upon considering the description below.